Merkle takes the heat, but there have been others

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Most of the real bonehead moves, to me, involve trades. Certainly the Red Sox sending Ruth to NY was good for NY. But sometimes money is very important - ask Connie Mack.

Certainly a rotation which included Koosman, Ryan and Seaver was too much to fathom. But I am a Giants fan, or I was. And the trade which irked me most was Schoendienst for Dark. I don't know why I thought Al Dark was the better player. The hall sure doesn't. But I still do.

Anyway, the Giants biggest bonehead move(s) to me were made by John McGraw. To me, he had the potential for the greatest team ever, but he traded the key players away for comparitively nothing.

He dumped Hornsby, a .358 lifetime hitter, who hit over .360 that year and .387 the next. Then as if that was nothing, he went on the following year and dumped a .349 lifetime hitter (Lefty O'Doul) who went on to hit .398 for his new team.

To me an infield of Bill Terry, Hornsby, Lindstrom and Travis Jackson can only be compared to an outfield consisting of O'Doul, Ott and anyone else.
You pretty much don't (Hubbell) need pitching (Fitzsimmons) with these guys (Walker, etc.)

What is your favorite bonehead move?